US Politics
Treasury considers $1 coin with Trump’s image on it for America’s 250th anniversary. Is it legal?
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The U.S. Treasury has released a draft design of a $1 coin with President Donald Trump’s image on it.
Treasurer Brandon Beach shared the “first drafts” on X, writing Friday that the coins were designed to honor America’s 250th anniversary. Beach noted he will share more details on the coins after the government shutdown, which is now in its third day, comes to an end.
The “heads” side of the coin will feature Trump’s profile, the draft designs show. The other side will show Trump raising his fist with the U.S. flag in the background, along with the words “Fight, Fight, Fight,” and the usual “United States of America” and “E Pluribus Unum.”
This image resembles the infamous photo of Trump raising his fist at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, moments after he was shot in the ear by a would-be assassin. Trump chanted “Fight! Fight! Fight!” as Secret Service agents ushered him off the stage.
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The draft design has raised questions, as U.S. law states that “only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities.”
However, coins and currency appear to be in separate categories. Coins are produced by the U.S. Mint, while currency is produced by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, according to the Treasury website. Living people have also appeared on coins in the past.
For example, the U.S. Mint unveiled a design for a gold coin featuring Former First Lady Nancy Reagan in February 2016, one month before her death. Former President Calvin Coolidge’s portrait also appeared on a half dollar in 1926, marking the “first time a U.S. President’s portrait appeared on a coin during his lifetime,” according to the U.S. Treasury website.
The Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, which allows the Treasury to issue “$1 dollar coins with designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial,” also states that “no head and shoulders portrait or bust of any person, living or dead, and no portrait of a living person may be included in the design on the reverse of specified coins.”
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This isn’t the first Trump-themed celebration for the country’s milestone birthday. In June, Trump hosted a massive military parade in Washington, D.C., celebrating 250 years of the U.S. military. The event, which cost about $30 million, also coincided with his 79th birthday.
A Treasury Department spokesperson confirmed that the design hasn’t been finalized yet.
“While a final $1 dollar coin design has not yet been selected to commemorate the United States’ semiquincentennial, this first draft reflects well the enduring spirit of our country and democracy, even in the face of immense obstacles,” the spokesperson said.